Dear Tesla Driver: “It’s not You, It’s Him.”

Amidst a booming bumper sticker industry, one writer offers solace to those asking, “Does this car make me look fascist?”

1 minute read

April 13, 2025, 7:00 AM PDT

By Christine McLaren


Close-up on cardboard sign reading 'No Kings' being held up at protest at Tesla offices in Brooklyn, New York.

Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons

“To all the drivers who bought a Tesla before Elon Musk and his DOGE boys went on a rampage through the federal government and made a lot of people very mad, I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s him.” 

So starts an open letter by Matt Bubbers in the Globe and Mail. The part-humorous, part-thoughtful and part downright serious piece examines the idea of “cars as drag” and dishes up a serving of empathy to the well-meaning consumers who bought Tesla EVs long before the current political situation made them targets of vandalism, arson and more. The piece features photos of apologetic bumper stickers on Telsas boasting phrases like "I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy." Bubbers pleads with readers to give Tesla drivers a break:

“The funny thing is that during Tesla’s wild swing across the political spectrum, from virtue-signalling liberal darling to hardcore MAGA-mobile, the cars never really changed," Bubbers writes. “They’re still the same lumps of metal made by the same workers. All cars are drag, yes, but they’re also cars, a necessary expense. So, let’s all agree to not put too much stock in whatever a car might signal about its driver. Leave that to the bumper stickers."

Monday, March 31, 2025 in The Globe and Mail

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